Sitka’s special election yesterday pushed the regular meeting of the Sitka Assembly to today. When the group meets tonight (5-29-25), it will grapple with two tourism-related questions.

The first is whether to keep Lincoln Street open for the remainder of the summer. For the past few years, the city has closed Lincoln Street on days with high cruise traffic. The regular closures generated some community pushback for limiting vehicle access to the downtown area. This May, the city left the street open in a trial run. Staff will present their observations to the assembly tonight, and the assembly will decide whether to leave the street open for the rest of the summer or resume closures on high traffic days.

The assembly will also consider moving forward with a new contractor for Visit Sitka. For years, the assembly has contracted with the Sitka Chamber of Commerce to run the city’s visitor services program. But the Chamber of Commerce announced it would end its contract with the city in June. According to a memo from city staff, the city received one successful bid for the contract from Orca // Killer Creative in Spokane, Washington.

In other business, the assembly will hear an appeal of a planning commission decision. The appellant, Tidal Network, applied for a height variance to install a telecommunications tower in a residential neighborhood. The Planning Commission denied its application. The assembly will act as a quasi-judicial body tonight, hearing arguments from the city and Tidal Network before it makes a decision on the appeal.

The Sitka Assembly meets at 6 p.m. tonight. Raven News will broadcast the meeting live, following Alaska News Nightly.